A Surfeit of Plutonium
by Pearl Emerald
Summary: Pluto is no longer a planet, but is the planet's new status really the choice of the International Astronomical Union? The outermost Senshi must make a choice, spurred by an unexpected phone call. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Senshi et. al. do not belong to me. The plot does, though.

**A/N:** Please review this, or any of my other works; I've been having a dry spell lately and I need some help figuring out if I need to fix anything in my writing.

**A Surfeit of Plutonium**

Chapter 1

September 13, 2006

"_Thank you, Ishikawa-san. In science news, the International Astronomical Union today released its new planet classification system, which includes a new definition of a planet. This new definition is sure to cause a stir the world over, as a common conception of planetary status has been debunked, leading to the re-classification of certain celestial bodies, including the ninth planet, Pluto."_

Meioh Setsuna's interest shifted from the glass of wine she had been pouring herself to the television in the corner of her living room. It had been a long day in the lab, and had begun to thunder as she walked home. Normally, the television served as a sort of white noise for her, providing a numb, meaningless noise that she craved when alone. Scores of years in solitude guarding the Gates of Time, years of silence but for the cracks, sizzles, and creaks of the Gates' ancient energy, had fueled Setsuna's desire for some sort of noise when she was alone, and the meaningless chatter and banter of the news anchors on the television provided apt sound. However, although the subject matter of those reading the news was never of any import or novelty to Setsuna, this news piqued her interest. Rarely was her guardian star and planet mentioned, even in passing conversation or a joke about the temperature. Setsuna finished pouring the wine and replaced the cork in the bottle.

"_With us now is Karasuma Akane-_sensei_, professor in space science and geology from the Kyoto University, to talk about what this means for the scientific community." _Setsuna glanced at the television as the display shifted to show an olive-skinned woman with long, shocking red hair and garnet eyes. She adjusted her rimless spectacles so that they sat on the bridge of her nose. She wore a choker with a large gold star charm on the chain. Setsuna stared hard at the television; this woman looked familiar, yet Setsuna could not place her; a memory, perhaps, with edges smudged by forgetfulness? Intrigued, she moved to the loveseat and sat as the introductions continued.

"_Arigatou_, Karasuma-_sensei_, for being with us tonight."

The professor cleared her throat. "Thank you for having me."

The news anchor shuffled his notes. "Now, what exactly is this change approved by the IAU?"

"Well, Pluto has long been considered a planet by common standards, but since the discovery of the moon Charon in the 1970s the standards have been criticized by a number of space scientists around the world. The mass of Pluto, in particular, was debated. We managed to gauge Pluto's mass, which was about a twentieth of that of the planet Mercury, the second-smallest planet at the time. Since then, we've discovered a number of celestial bodies similar in size, mass, and shape to Pluto. Six years ago, it became plain to the scientific community that we'd have to either name a number of new bodies as planets, or reclassify Pluto. The latter was easier. It took a few years, but the IAU has finally released these new standards."

"Which are…"

"To be considered a planet, a body must meet three different criteria. Firstly, a planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun. Secondly, the body must have sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it may become rounded in shape, and thirdly, must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

"So, why is this changing the solar system?"

The professor smiled, her eyes nearly boring holes in the television screen. "Because, by these official standards, Pluto is no longer a planet."

Setsuna froze, dropping the wine glass. Ruby liquid spattered her pajama pants and the floor of the living room of her apartment, but Setsuna neither felt nor noticed the wetness as she felt suddenly cold all over.

_A planet…no longer a planet…no longer…_

Setsuna couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything but the triumphant lipsticked smile of the professor on the television as she stared, it felt, right at Setsuna. She knew she should keep listening to the news, but Setsuna didn't want to hear anymore. She felt around blindly for the remote, and, failing to find it, put her face in her hands. She was still numb. No tears would come, no anger, no shock, no emotion would come to her. She had to do…something. Stand up, lie down, eat, drink, live, die…

The telephone rang, its tone jarring to her ears. _Haruka, _she thought, _or Ami. Endymion-sama, perhaps._ Not wanting to, Setsuna summoned to her the garnet rod, and, using it as a walking stick, hobbled, as a crone, to the old-fashioned, red and black rotary telephone. Lifting the handset on the telephone, Setsuna muttered "_Hai_?".

Silence.

"_Hai?" _Again, silence.

Then, a light female voice. "We've been watching you. You have seen the reports tonight. Know that as long as you consort with the Senshi that you have no status; you are a nonexistent entity with no name, and your worth degraded."

A pause. It felt like a scene from an American murder mystery, and the sheer unoriginality and corniness of this occurrence would normally calm Setsuna, but now she could not control the fear that blossomed from the disappearing numbness. "What do you want?" The age-old question, asked in the hope of redemption.

Setsuna could hear the smirk in the voice on the other end. "Your cooperation. Leave the Senshi, stay out of sight for a time, and perhaps we could arrange to reinstate Pluto as a planet." Another pause. "All we need is a few months, and then you can be on your merry Senshi way again. Cooperate, and this will come to you. Do you but transform, and," a melodramatic pause, "you might find your princess in a 

precarious position. Her kingdom, in exchange for the most valuable guardian. Which do you think she would choose?" A typical intimidation tactic, imposing fear by suavity and cleverness.

Setsuna shook. Knowing Usagi's damnable sense of honor, she knew which Usagi would pick, and Setsuna's pride would not permit that choice.

"I thought so. Your cooperation starts now." Again, a damned silence. "Knock knock."

There was a pounding on the door, in no particular order or pattern. A click in her ear informed her that the woman on the other end had hung up the phone. _So now we go from _Dial M for Murder _to _The Matrix. A strange and terribly timed phone call, coupled with a piece of news that couldn't possibly be correct…it was too clichéd to possibly be true in all of its facets.

The pounding continued. Setsuna reached for the phone, about to dial for the police, when she heard a familiar voice shout her name from outside. _Finally._

She answered the door to find Haruka and Michiru, both unreasonably dry, considering the weather conditions outside. Standing aside, she let them in silently and closed the door behind her. She automatically went into the kitchen and put some water on the stove for tea. She turned around and jumped, forgetting the pair's unnerving twinned ability to move silently. She had also forgotten that, even with her gift for keeping counsel, Haruka and Michiru could often tell when something was bothering her. Coupled with their habit of watching the evening news, they obviously knew why she was upset. _The question remains, my comrades: what will you do to help me now?_

The rain continued to fall; the thunder growled in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: As per the usual, Senshi et. al. don't belong to me. The bit at the beginning doesn't, either (it's from _Titanic_, and thus belongs to the creators of that movie). And Mamoru's semi-ironic ringtone is by Chad Kroeger. Plot belongs to me, though.

**A Surfeit of Plutonium**

Chapter 2

_Rose DeWitt Bukater lay on a broken door in the middle of the freezing ocean. Her strikingly red hair was solidified into myriad icicles and her lips tinted blue from the cold. She clung to her lover's hand as the water froze the life from his body. After a time, she opened her eyes to see that his were closed. She rasped his name- "Jack? Jack!"- he would not respond, and she knew he was departed from this world. Seeing a rescue lifeboat in the distance, she called to it, but she knew she would have to break the physical part of the promise binding her to him. As she let go of his hands and saw him sink into the ocean's depths, she whispered the now-immortal phrase: "I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go."_

Tears streaming down her face, Usagi reached for another tissue. She wiped her face and snorted into the napkin with a noise akin to the squashing of a rubber duck by an exceptionally large foot. As she threw the tissue in the general direction of the trash container next to the television (and missed), Usagi noticed Mamoru, who had held her for the last hour, stretch and yawn. He checked his watch.

"It's over already?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, not noticing Usagi's mouth drop open as he did so. Usagi sat there in silence, until Mamoru playfully kissed her on the nose. "You know, that's a great way to catch flies."

Usagi turned red. "Y-you were _asleep_? You _slept _through the best scene?"

Mamoru frowned. "It was a long day, Usagi. I woke up early and was in the lab until 6. And it's not like watching people drown in icy water as music plays is a pleasant exercise." He picked up the remote and pressed the pause button.

"But it's my favorite movie! And _you_ slept through it!" Usagi folded her arms over her chest and turned away from him. "If you're so tired, you could have told me, and I would have gone home."

Mamoru took a deep breath before he responded. "Usa-ko. It's fine. I'm sorry. I didn't think I would fall asleep, and I did want to see you before you spend tomorrow with the girls."

Usagi turned back around, her face no longer crimson, and unfolded her arms. "Apology accepted. I guess that was pretty mean of me. I mean, you have a job."

Mamoru turned the television off, and then pulled her back towards him, so that her face and his were about an inch apart. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad to see you at all." He kissed her then, and they forgot to be annoyed with each other for a while.

"_And they say that a hero can save us, I'm not gonna stand here and wait, I'll hold on the wings of the eagles-"_

Mamoru fished around in his pocket, pulling reluctantly away from Usagi. He pulled out his phone, and saw that he had a new text message from…_Haruka? That's odd, I wonder what she could want at this hour …_Mamoru flipped open the phone to find this message:

_Where r u? Tried apt. Meet the park in 20. Usagi?!_

Cryptic, he observed, even for Haruka. He wondered what could be so urgent as to necessitate a meeting. Usagi peeked over his shoulder.

"What is it?"

Mamoru stood up. "I don't know, but Haruka wants to meet at the park in 20 minutes, and I think she wants you there as well. Doesn't she have your number?" He moved to put his jacket on.

Usagi frowned. "Yeah, but she hasn't called me in a while. We've been hanging out together so often that it doesn't matter that we lost the communicators. Besides, I went over my minutes last month and my parents took my phone away." She got up and began to root around under her bed for socks and her jacket.

"Wait." Usagi paused, giving Mamoru a confused look. Mamoru shrugged. "Chibi-usa and Hotaru. They're upstairs?"

"Yeah, but it's late, and my parents and Shingo are here, so they should be fine. I mean, if something _does _happen, you know Hotaru will notice it and tell Chibi-usa." Usagi held up her shoes in triumph. "Yes!"

"Then I guess it's lucky they had their sleepover tonight." Mamoru picked up his umbrella off the floor and held the door so that Usagi, socks and jacket in hand, could exit. They walked quietly down the stairs, as her parents and Shingo were already asleep. They put their shoes on and left Usagi's house. It was still raining heavily outside, but there was a chill to the air that had not been there previously. Usagi put her hand in Mamoru's, and they walked silently to the park.

_Pearl Emerald_

Hino Rei was nervous, which was not a good emotion for a priestess to feel in general, but even worse to feel while attempting to read the flames of the sacred fire.

Ami had called after watching the ten o'clock news, frantic at the thought of what the exclusion of Pluto from maintaining the status of planet could mean to the Senshi. Ever the analytical one, Ami had begun to spout scientific data at Rei until, unable to distinguish between Ami's words, she had told her, politely, to cease her babbling and simply come to the shrine. Evidently Ami had called Minako and Makoto, as all three appeared, soaked through and frazzled, upon the doorstep of the shrine half an hour later. Minako had grumbled that her date was rather disgruntled with her sudden departure, but a glare from Rei shut her up. All four had had tea, and then Rei left them to visit the sacred fire alone, without interruption.

And there she knelt, in front of the fire that, strangely lent her not a clue as to the phenomenon that had stricken the team of soldiers. She had knelt for what felt like eternity, but in reality had been little more than a few minutes. Perhaps, she mused, it was easier to observe the fire when her purpose was pure meditation, and not a search for a physical object.

While Rei was communing, Minako stepped outside to make a phone call, presumably to her semi-discontented date. Makoto curled up under the blanket of her rain slicker, and made a half-hearted attempt to sleep. Staying true to form, Ami, who had dragged her large astronomy textbook to the shrine, opened it and read under the light next to Rei's bed. After a time, she closed the book and replaced it in her bag, looking miserable. She got up and started to pace on the other side of the room from where Makoto was sleeping.

"I can still feel that, you know." Makoto lifted the jacket to aim a sleep-muddled glare at Ami, who blushed and sat down, folding her arms and legs together.

"_Gomen_, Mako-chan," she said quietly. "I was just thinking. This occurrence…disturbs me."

Makoto sat up, sorry for forcing Ami to clam up. She wanted to smack herself. She stood and went to sit by Ami, who had put her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything."

"Oh, stop acting so apologetic. You're tired, and my pacing like a madwoman doesn't help."

"Yeah, but bitching you out doesn't help anything."

"True." Ami peered out the door, which Minako had left open a crack. "How is she still talking to him? It's so late at night…"

Makoto grinned. "I mean, maybe she's got this whole 'Goddess of Love' thing going. Enchantress of men, stuff like that."

"Yes, but she _represents_ the Goddess of Love. She isn't Venus herself, just the planet protector thereof."

"Good luck telling her that." At this, the subject of their discussion entered the room and shut the door.

Minako frowned. "Where's Rei-chan?"

"Still communing with the fiery spirits." Noticing the look on Minako's face, Ami's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

Minako held up her phone. "I just got a call from Michiru-san. Something weird's going on, and they want us at the park by Usagi's house as soon as we can get there."

"What sort of weird? I mean, there's all kinds of stuff. Did you know Usagi-chan got an _A _on an _English test _last week?"

"Not funny, Mako-chan." Ami got up and gathered her bag and coat. "What sort of weird, Mina?"

"Um, well, Michiru was being all secret-agent on me, so she didn't say. But if they need us this late at night, it's got to be something." Minako looked around. "It's been almost an hour. Where is Rei-chan?"

"Here." The _miko_ closed the door behind her. "Michiru wants a meeting?"

"Yeah, and now." Rei nodded.

"It's still raining?" Ami nodded. "All right, just let me change and we'll go."

Five minutes later, the inner Senshi were on their way.

A/N: Hi everyone! It sounds like people like this story, so I'm going to keep writing. I think this might be the first story in more than one installment that I finish in less than two years…BUT. In order to reach this goal, I need reviews. And from more than one person (thanks, ElysianNeptune!).


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: As per the usual, the plot of this story belongs to me, but nothing else does.

**A Surfeit of Plutonium**

Chapter 3

Haruka folded her arms and leaned against the wood entrance to the gazebo in the middle of the park. Michiru perched herself on a seat inside, her face serene. Setsuna paced outside the gazebo, though the rain had not yet stopped, her usually composed nature mislaid. She knew that Haruka and Michiru would glance at each other as she paced, knowing that something was wrong, but not knowing why she was not acting as calmly as she had in other crises. Her partners weren't stupid; they could plainly see that she was rattled enough to not be able to take care of herself. Having Hotaru sleep over at Small Lady's house had been a convenient plan, as she would be in a relatively safe location until they, the senior Senshi, could figure out what was happening around them.

As if Setsuna knew what was happening! Who could possibly know that she was a Senshi? Contacting her would be no difficult matter, given a name. But why, and who, and what were all questions to which she might never know the answer. There was only so much analysis, and discussion, and searching that could be done, and none of the answers gained from those activities might help.

Haruka coughed, causing Setsuna to start. She looked around and saw Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Rei approaching from behind the swings. Normally the most calm of the inner Senshi, Ami and Rei looked rather worried. Minako was playing with her phone or text-messaging, but Setsuna couldn't tell which. Makoto looked…like Makoto, always caught between being on the offense and the defense.

Setsuna continued to pace as Haruka and Michiru saluted the guardians of the four inner planets. She stared out of the gazebo, waiting for the girls to come inside, not deigning to greet them. The four younger women slogged through the rain and mud, unsmiling. At last they entered the gazebo, which was, thankfully, large enough for all present to be seated comfortably, and seated themselves. For a change, none of the soldiers spoke, or even fidgeted.

Where were Mamoru and Usagi? Setsuna knew that nothing life-threatening had occurred; Usagi was probably holding them up, as per the usual. Setsuna continued her pacing, and the silence in the gazebo grew painfully loud in its absence.

At last, Setsuna glimpsed a flash of pink umbrella through the rain, which had begun to fall more heavily. Usagi and Mamoru walked quickly toward the gazebo, hand in hand, and quickly arrived. They stepped inside the gazebo. Minako and Rei moved to make room for Usagi and Mamoru, but the medical student preferred to stand. Usagi frowned at the entrance to the gazebo.

"Setsuna-san, you should come in. It's raining too hard out there, you'll get soaked." Usagi pointed out.

Setsuna came inside. Usagi was right; it was stupid, now that everyone was there. She sat next to Michiru on the edge of the bench, next to the entrance.

Rei cleared her throat. "So, what exactly is going on here? Why the sudden cryptic call?" she asked.

As she continued to watch the rain fall, Michiru asked calmly, "You already know of the decision to re-classify Pluto?" All except Mamoru and Usagi nodded. The two looked confused.

"What do you mean, re-classify Pluto?" asked Mamoru.

Ami looked at the others before looking at her king. She said, "The International Astronomical Union passed a resolution today which will alter the definition of a planet by conventional guidelines."

"And why does this affect us?"

Ami looked down at her hands. "Because, scientifically speaking, the definition has changed such so that Pluto is no longer a planet. By conventional guidelines." She blushed.

Michiru spoke quietly, as to a group of unruly children. "You understand why we needed to meet. You understand how this will affect us as a group, and that clearly, we need to consider the consequences of such a decision for all of us, not merely Setsuna."

"I'm right here, you know. You don't need to refer to me as though I'm still outside." Setsuna said, irritated by Michiru's tone. She knew Haruka and Michiru would glance at each other, but they would gloss over her sudden spark of attitude. Not wanting to hear Michiru's condescending tone, she continued, "I never saw this, you know. I have never been shown my own future, but have only been able to see those of you soldiers. I don't understand why there could be such a change in the time-space continuum, and why I should be affected and not you, and if you're supposed to have stuff happen to you, I can't see it." Setsuna stopped, realizing that she was on the verge of shouting.

"Why would they take out any planet? Why reclassify now?" Makoto asked. Everyone looked at Ami, who blushed.

"I'm sure it's a fairly simple explanation, but I don't really know why. I believe that the organization had been looking into changing the classification system for a few years now, since new celestial bodies were reported to have been discovered." Ami explained.

"Did anyone see the actual report on the news, besides Setsuna-san?" asked Rei. Ami nodded, as did Haruka and Michiru. "Was there anything odd about what the reporter said?"

Ami thought for a second. "It wasn't what was said, but the professor who fielded the scientific questions…I don't know, something about her looked familiar, and not in a pleasant way," she replied. She sighed. "Dumb, right? What she said wasn't unnerving, but she was."

Michiru and Haruka glanced at each other. "We noticed that, as well. Something about her is not right," Michiru said. "I tried to observe in my mirror, but it clouded over and I couldn't see."

Setsuna started. "I noticed, as well, but I didn't think to check afterward," she said.

"You were also reasonably preoccupied afterward," Haruka observed.

"Why? What happened?" Minako asked. Setsuna glared at Haruka. _Now you've done it, given them more to worry about. _Haruka only raised an eyebrow, replying _they would have found out eventually._

Setsuna sighed. "After the report ended, I received an odd phone call." She paused.

"Odd? What do you mean?" Usagi asked.

Setsuna looked outside and watched the rain fall. "A woman called. I don't know who she was, but she knew I was-am Sailor Pluto." Setsuna clenched her fists in her lap, willing herself not to cry. "She said that because Pluto has no status as a planet, then I have no status as a Sailor soldier. She gave me an ultimatum." Setsuna stopped speaking in an attempt to remain relatively calm. "I have to leave the Senshi, or something will happen to you, Princess," she said, looking at Usagi.

The group was silent. Makoto finally asked, "You'd leave forever?"

Setsuna shook her head. "No, she said for a few months. Inconsequential, really, considering how much time I have seen pass. But I also know that much can happen in a few months. And," she paused, thinking, "if I act on my best behavior, she said she could arrange to have Pluto reinstated as a planet."

"You can't leave, Setsuna-san," Usagi decreed. "What are we, without all of us here?"

"Still strong, Princess," Haruka said.

Rei looked at her. "You can't expect us to just let Setsuna-san _leave_."

"She has a point, though, Rei-chan, much as I would prefer it to not be so," Ami said.

"This is not mediaeval times, Rei-san," Michiru said. "United we stand, but divided, we do not fall."

"You, too!" Rei said angrily.

"Why does she have to leave?" Makoto asked. "As long as she doesn't transform, she should be fine, right?"

"You're doing it again." Setsuna's voice cut through the argument. "I'm still here. And Makoto, I couldn't stay without wanting to help, and without transforming I can't help enough. Besides," she added, "if that one person already has my phone number, it shouldn't be a problem to find out where I live and watch me. Better I should leave and cause fewer problems."

The group was silent.

"What if this is the point?" Minako asked quietly. Everyone glanced at her. She continued, "What if this person knows about all of us, and wants to cause problems inside the group? They obviously know that we're not all going to agree about you going anywhere, Setsuna-san. It's the perfect trouble-maker."

All present paused. "If you're right, then this is only going to grow larger, and beyond our control," Mamoru said.

"So what do we do? What does Setsuna do?" asked Rei.

"Nobody is going anywhere." Usagi stood. "If they're watching you, Setsuna-san, if this is even real, then there's nothing you can do. You should stay here, in Crossroads, and lay low for a while," she ruled.

Rei spoke up. "You could stay with me, if you wanted. We have the extra room, and," she grinned mischievously, "Grandpa won't mind having a pretty face around."

Setsuna frowned. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

Setsuna sighed. "I'd be placing you and your grandfather in unnecessary danger."

Rei rolled her eyes. "We're _Senshi_. There's always danger. Occupational hazard." Haruka and Michiru smiled at that.

Realizing that this was probably a good idea, Setsuna acquiesced. "Thank you. I'd be glad to stay with you. We'll talk later about getting my clothing and such."

Minako and Ami yawned, at the same time. Looking at her watch, Setsuna realized it was nearly one in the morning. "It's late, we should go," she said. The Senshi stood, and departed as they had arrived, except that Setsuna left with Rei and the other three inner planet guardians.

Usagi and Mamoru returned to her house as they had left, silently, clasping the other's hand, unsure of the next step, and wet from the rain which had still not yet ceased to fall. After a time, Usagi turned to her fiancé.

"Mamo-chan, what are we going to tell Chibi-usa and Hotaru-chan? We can't _not_ tell them; it wouldn't be fair."

Mamoru pondered for a second. "We are going to have to tell them, but not right now. When they wake up tomorrow we'll have to tell them everything that happened tonight. I'm pretty sure they know something's wrong, especially because Hotaru just showed up tonight. She'll understand why Haruka and Michiru dropped her off, all of a sudden."

"Oh. I get it." Usagi looked down. Mamoru, surprised by her unusual reticence, leaned over and kissed Usagi on the top of her head.

"You forget that I can tell when something's wrong. Sometimes, when you spend a lot of time with another person, you pick up on these things." Usagi shook her head. She opened her mouth, and then closed it. She put her back against the railing outside her house, and looked at the ground. She opened her mouth again to speak, and the words came rushing out, seemingly of their own volition.

"I don't know. We spent so much time defending this world from so many different enemies, and now we're being…broken, by this thing that isn't even…this thing that we have no idea what it is. I mean, what did Setsuna-san do to anyone? Haruka-san or Michiru-san, I get how they could make someone mad. But Setsuna-san only did her job, and she was so nice to Chibi-usa in the future, and I just don't know why anyone would do this to her!" She put her head in her hands. "And then you're leaving for America so soon, so you won't even be here to help with this." Realizing what she had just said, Usagi blushed and looked up at Mamoru. "_Gomen nasai_, Mamo-chan. I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I'm so used to your being…what does Ami-chan call it? The 'voice of reason'?"

Mamoru ruffled his hair and looked at the sky. "Well, I don't want you to worry about my going to America. I know that by telling you that, you'll only worry more, but I can always put off studying in America. Or I could study somewhere closer, where the programs are just as good, like Russia or China." He stopped, realizing that, firstly, it was not a good time to talk about his studies, and secondly, that he didn't want to give Usagi false hope. "Just don't worry about it now. There are bigger things than my studies going on."

"Okay." Usagi looked up at the rain. "Are you still helping me in English tomorrow after school?"

"Yes. I'll meet you at the Arcade?"

"Okay." Usagi looked up at Mamoru. He kissed her, and then held her close to him. After a time, he let her go. "Thanks," she said. "Good night." She turned and walked into her house, blowing a kiss to him before shutting the door. Mamoru sighed, then walked to his motorcycle, which he had parked under Usagi's porch in order to avoid the rain. He got on the motorcycle, put on his helmet, and drove away.

He did not see the dark figure across the street from Usagi's house; he did not see the figure vanish into the night.

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing constructively! This story has generated more responses than any other work I've posted to this site. Yes, I know there are continuity errors. For future reference, this story takes place during the StarS arc, so I'm twisting the whole Mamoru-studying-abroad thing, and pretending that he is studying abroad in the year after this one. And I know Chibi-usa was supposed to go back to the future, so I decided to keep her in the present, so that she can, you know, fight alongside Hotaru, as in the anime/manga.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: If it involves BSSM, and isn't plot, it's not mine. That which is not mine belongs to Takeuchi Naoko.

**A Surfeit of Plutonium**

Chapter 4

While the Senshi were meeting in the rain, two women sat together in a small bar a few blocks away. Both women were tall, with hair that flowed unnaturally long. One of the women was olive-skinned, with large red eyes and straight hair tinted crimson. The other was far paler, with blue eyes, blue hair, and two gold-and-blue bands across her face, at the moment made to resemble tattoos. Both women sported matching gold cuff bracelets on both wrists. The red-haired woman drank a beer; the blue-haired woman sipped an unnaturally-colored cosmopolitan. They were the only two in the bar; even the bartender had departed. The lights were dimmed in the establishment. Pop music, a boy band, played from the rusty jukebox in the far corner of the bar, even though so old a music player should not have offered such a recently recorded song.

The women sat together in silence for a time, both listening to the strains of the song intermingling with the falling rain outside. The song ended, and a new tune, a ballad, began to play. The blue-haired woman finished her drink, set the glass down upon the table, and turned around in her chair to face the window next to her. She watched the rain fall for a minute, and then began to trace the water-patterns on the window with her fingers.

This continued for some time, until the blue-haired woman tired of the game. Turning to her companion, she sighed.

"What's wrong, Crow?"

The red-haired woman glared at her beer bottle, and remained silent. "It's really nothing, besides the usual." She took a sip of beer. "I'm a bit stressed about this particular mission. Attacking the Sailor Senshi at their heart by picking off one of them probably wasn't the smartest option." She put her beer down. "But Galaxia-sama has grown unhappy with my work lately, and I needed something that would be bold enough to cause damage to the Sailor Senshi and regain my good reputation with the boss-lady."

The blue-haired woman smiled. "It'll be fine, Crow. There's really nothing that can go wrong this time. You've given the Senshi an ultimatum, and there's no easy way out for them this time. Attack when they're weak, to conquer the crystals quickly!"

Crow sighed. "I wish I had your optimism, Siren. There's so much that could go wrong this time, which was part of the risk to begin with, but I need to succeed this time. Otherwise…" Crow rubbed two fingers over the cuff bracelet on her right wrist. The bracelet gleamed maliciously, the very gems embedded in the gold taunting her. "The television report worked well enough, but the phone call was overkill and now we've showed our hand a bit to the Senshi. Who else have they been fighting all this time, except for us? I was too rash, and now I'm going to get whipped by Galaxia-sama for it." She rubbed her temples. "And then she'll give my job to Nyanko and you, and I don't want you to have to put up with her. Nyanko's awful."

"You'll do fine, I'm sure of it. Galaxia-sama knows that you're trying; that should help you a bit if she's unhappy," Siren verily chirped. "And Nyanko's not that bad, really." She stood up, picking up her glass. She put it on the bar, summoning a few yen from seemingly thin air and placing the money next to the glass. Returning to her companion, Siren put her hands on her hips and looked down at Crow.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie, or something," she said. "We haven't done anything fun in a long time. There's this new Three Lights movie, and they're _so _cute."

Crow sighed, but finished her beer, and put the bottle on the counter next to Siren's empty cosmo glass. As she placed her empty bracelet on the table, the gems on her bracelets glowed. Turning to look at Siren, she saw that Siren's bracelets were also glowing. They both frowned at each other, wondering what was causing the change. A light tinkling of bells, and a high-pitched giggle answered their unasked question.

Crow scowled. "Nyanko. I would have figured that you would show up and ruin a quiet night out."

A short girl, with black hair in braids and pale skin, materialized in the center of the room. She moved slightly, and the bells attached to her short skirt and shirt tinkled. She smirked. "I would have figured that you'd be sulking in a dark room, Crow."

"Really, Nyanko?" Crow's eyes narrowed. "I'm doing perfectly well so far. Too bad you don't have a mission, and can't say the same."

Nyanko smiled maliciously. "Which just means I have less chance of messing everything up. A telephone call? Could you _be_ any more obvious and cliché?"

Siren, in an attempt to prevent an argument, broke in. "What is it, Nyanko-san? Does Galaxia-sama need us for something?"

Nyanko turned the full force of her smirk upon the blue-haired woman. "No, but I thought I'd see what you two were up to. I mean, with Crow-chan taking charge on her mission and everything, I have nothing to do."

"We were just about to leave. There's nothing more for us to do here, especially now that you've shown up," ground out Crow. "_Nyanko-san._"

Siren elbowed Crow, trying to make her stop talking. She turned to Nyanko. "Is there anything else that we can do for you right now, Nyanko-san?" Nyanko snorted in response. "Well, in that case, we'll just be going. Good night!" She bowed in farewell, took Crow's arm, and the two of them teleported back to the building which served as their headquarters.

As she readjusted to her surroundings, Crow rubbed her arm, her scowl still intact. "How can you be so polite to her? That bitch is obviously out to screw with my plans, and you have to be so damn nice!" Her bracelets glowed, and the scarlet-and-black outfit she had been wearing changed into red-and-onyx diamond-patterned pajamas.

Siren shrugged. "I figured that if you two started fighting, the humans outside might notice, and we'd be caught." She sat down on her bed-pallet. Her bracelets glowed, and her blue dress outfit changed into a lacy blue-and-white negligee. "And she's not a bitch; she just wants your job more than she thinks you do. If I remember right, we did the same thing to Mouse."

"That's different. Mouse was completely incompetent. She was only stupid, not dangerous. And she failed to locate even the slightest presence of Senshi on this world. At least we've done something." Crow sat on her bed-pallet. "I don't care if she's after my job. She can have it. Let her do some real work, and let her feel Galaxia-sama's displeasure once in a while. Then maybe she wouldn't be so damn smug."

Siren shrugged. She had been doing it a lot lately, this odd physical expression of the humans. "It's weird, don't you think? That she followed us?"

Crow thought about it. "She's probably following the Senshi as well. As long as she doesn't find out what we're doing exactly, I'm not too worried about her." She burrowed under the blankets. "I'm sorry, I don't think I'm going to be up for that movie tonight."

Siren got up and sat next to Crow. "It's okay, just sleep, and everything will look better." She kissed Crow on the cheek. "Nighty-night, Crow." She got under her own covers, and curled into a ball.

"Good night, Siren." After a few moments, she heard Siren's light baby snores emanating from the sleeping area next to hers. Crow got up from her bed, and silently made her way over to the window on the other side of the room. The rain continued to fall heavily, and the roiling clouds indicated a coming storm. She sat in the chair next to the window, and watched the drops fall. And she pondered long into the night.

A/N: Sorry this one's so short, and a little unusual, but it was necessary. Thanks for the reviews so far; I hope this chapter is up to y'all's standards! Please keep reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: You recognize it, it's probably not mine. Characters are the brainchild of Takeuchi Naoko, but the plot is mine.

Chapter 5

The moon was in the middle of the sky by the time Setsuna and Rei left the park to go to Setsuna's apartment. The atmosphere was humid and damp; the rain had halted for a little while, but the clouds overhead promised more rain to come. The pair walked silently, for neither had reason nor desire to talk. Setsuna lived about three-quarters of a mile from the park, but the Senshi covered the distance quickly, walking side-by-side.

They arrived at Setsuna's building. After the return of the four guardians of the outer solar system, Setsuna had moved to a quiet area of town, closer to Waseda University, in order to research and study. Haruka and Michiru had wanted her to live with them, in order to participate in raising Hotaru, but Setsuna argued that she would rather not disrupt Hotaru's already-complicated family understanding. Instead, she had wanted to be Hotaru's teacher and favorite aunt, and the situation had worked out well for all involved parties. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru lived in a small house about a mile away from Setsuna's apartment building, so Hotaru could visit whenever she wanted, and Setsuna was always welcome at the house.

Setsuna's building had a 24-hour security system, so she signed Rei into the building, and they boarded the elevator. Setsuna lived on the twelfth floor; it was easier for her to observe the sky and the panorama of the city in this setting. The elevators in her building had recently been renovated, and now promised a smooth ride from bottom floor to top. Even so, Rei still shuddered slightly as the elevator passed the fifth floor.

"What's wrong?" asked Setsuna.

Rei shrugged. "It's just left-over fear from a fight a few years ago." Setsuna raised her eyebrows, and Rei continued. "Usagi got trapped in an elevator with Mamoru-san, and the man they fought was throwing fireballs at them and nearly killed them. Minako, Mako, Ami, and I had to take the other elevator to get to them at the top of the building. One of this man's _youma _almost destroyed the elevator we were in, and we're lucky none of us died." She rubbed her elbows, a nervous gesture. "Which is why, to this day, I still cringe when I get in an elevator."

Setsuna said nothing, but nodded in comprehension. The Mugen School's elevator to Hell, when she had fought the Death Busters and Hotaru's father alongside Sailor Moon, Haruka, and Michiru, sporadically served as the basis for a nightmare. The elevator arrived at Setsuna's floor, and the pair left the elevator. They walked silently to Setsuna's apartment, 1209, so as not to wake the other residents. Once they had stepped inside and Setsuna had turned on a lamp, both of the women let out a held breath, and then giggled.

Once they had stopped laughing, Setsuna went into her bedroom to pack, and Rei walked into the small kitchen.

"Setsuna-san, do you want any tea or food before we leave?" Rei called quietly.

"Tea would be nice, thanks. There's jasmine in the cupboard above the stove, and the kettle is in the sink," replied Setsuna, as she pulled an overnight bag out of her closet. Into the bag went a pair of slacks, two skirts, and a few shirts, as well as her pajamas, toiletries, and work shoes. Her garnet rod could be summoned at any time, so there was no need to pack it, and her keys and transformation pen were always on her person. Setsuna took her briefcase with her; she would need some work to do in order to ease her mind. The last thing Setsuna took was the doll Hotaru had made for her birthday last winter. It was small, decorated haphazardly with beads and buttons, and stuffed with cotton, but Setsuna treasured the doll nevertheless.

Setsuna brought her belongings into the living room area and set them on the couch where, not six hours before, she had been watching the news and spilling wine on the floor. She stood for a minute in front of the phone, where the wine had been cleaned off of the floor, until Rei brought the two cups of tea into the living room area. The two sat on the love seat and sipped the tea.

Rei cleared her throat. "I realized that you and I live on opposite sides of town, so I called my friend Yuuichiro; he owes me a favor, so he'll be here in twenty minutes or so." She winced. "He's not the most _gentle_ driver, but he lives at the shrine with us and can get us there in one piece." She sipped her tea. "There's a guest room next to mine. It's a little bare, because we rarely have guests, but it should be fine."

Setsuna's hand shook on the handle of her empty teacup. She was so tired and tried, and Rei, seeing this, stood, took the cups, and went into the kitchen to wash dishes, leaving Setsuna to curl into the fetal position and catnap until Yuuichiro arrived twenty minutes later, as promised, in his old blue Toyota. He was a nice-looking boy who obviously was at least half-in love with Rei, though Setsuna wondered how he could see to drive through his shaggy hair. He greeted Setsuna with a respectful bow, and Setsuna wondered exactly what Rei had told him in explanation for dragging him out of bed at so ungodly an hour.

The ride to the shrine was quiet. Rei and Yuuichiro sat in the front, speaking softly about the arrangements for Setsuna, and the object of their discussion sat in the back, looking out the windows of the car and watching the city lights blur into one long stream of colored light. The rain had begun to fall again, just as heavily as before.

The hum of the car and Rei and Yuuichiro's soft discussion, coupled with the patterns of the splashing lights, dulled Setsuna's comprehension, and it was not until Rei opened Setsuna's door that she realized that the car had stopped. Rei helped Setsuna gather her belongings, then stuck her head back through the passenger side window to say something to Yuuichiro. Then, she turned and began to briskly walk, _sans _umbrella, up the long stairs to the shrine and living quarters. Setsuna followed her, head bowed against the rain.

After a time, they reached the living quarters, and Rei and Setsuna removed their soaked shoes before entering. They walked quietly on the polished wood, past a room that Rei, whispering, identified as her grandfather's room, and then past another room, which Rei identified as Yuuichiro's. They passed two more rooms, and then stopped in front of an undecorated rice-paper door. Rei slid the door open to reveal a small whitewashed room, outfitted with bed, desk, lamp, and window. The room was clean, and the bed sheets and floor rug were both maroon, which was a small comfort to Setsuna.

Rei and Setsuna stepped into the room, and Setsuna closed the door without a sound. Rei placed Setsuna's weekend bag on the floor next to the desk, and opened the window a small amount to let in the clean scent of the rain. Setsuna set her briefcase on the desk, and sat on the bed.

"Thank you, Rei-chan," Setsuna said. "For all of this. I don't like asking favors, or being looked after by anyone." She smiled slightly. "I suppose that's true about both of us. But I appreciate the hospitality of you, Yuuichiro, and your grandfather."

Rei leaned against the wall next to the window, and rubbed her elbows again. "To be honest, Setsuna-san, it's a nice change from spending my entire summer with Usagi," she admitted. "I know you and Haruka-san and Michiru-san are pretty independent, but I'm glad we didn't have to fight about you staying here. I'm sure you have work to do, but if you ever want to learn the basics of being a _miko_, let me know." She went to the door, and slid it open. Standing in the doorway, she continued, "It's late, and we both need sleep, but I should be in the outer area of the shrine selling fortunes in the morning. There's food in the general dining area, which is across the way." She bowed slightly. "Good night, Setsuna-san. Sweet dreams."

Setsuna stood and bowed in return. "Thank you, Rei-chan. Good night." Rei turned and left, closing the door behind her. After she heard Rei's footsteps quiet and disappear, Setsuna sat on the bed, and curled once more into the fetal position. She fell asleep that way, still in her damp street clothes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that night, the days all seemed to slip into a quiet rhythm, as summer days do. Setsuna had slept restfully the first night, but every consequent night had been filled with nightmares and images Setsuna couldn't recall upon awaking. She took her meals with Rei, and cleaned her living space, and bathed in the bathing room, as she would normally.

Setsuna worked during the days, assisting in minor tasks around the shrine, and, once in a great while, selling fortunes in Rei's place. She also read through the books and papers she had brought with her, attempting to sift through scientific journals and textbooks to figure out the IAU's classification of Pluto, and trying to find evidence of the revelation of the mysterious Dr. Karasuma Akane, whom Setsuna could not identify in any paper, article, or book.

With the exception of Mamoru-san, who was working overtime in the teaching hospital's laboratory, all of the Senshi visited the Hikawa Jinja at least once during the first week of Setsuna's stay there. Hotaru and Small Lady visited every day after lunch for a little while, and the others, save Haruka and Michiru, dropped by almost as often. Those two came by but once, for a short time, to speak with Setsuna about new developments. They, too, had been searching for the elusive Dr. Karasuma, but had met with nothing. Though Haruka and Michiru had promised to keep looking, Setsuna knew they wouldn't find anything.

Her days should have been relatively peaceful, given the general lack of work and responsibility, and the near-constant stream of work and visitors. Yet Setsuna was unnerved each time one of the Senshi would visit. Makoto's brownies were as delicious as ever, and Minako as absentminded as usual, but Ami was shyer and more flustered around Setsuna than usual, and Usagi's giggling could not hide the anxiety and worry she felt. Setsuna knew that Small Lady and Hotaru were sincere in their youthful enthusiasm, but understood Setsuna's situation. All of these factors grouped together gave Setsuna the impression that the Senshi were treating her as some sort of invalid.

And, though she never would have said anything to her hostess, Setsuna was growing tired of it. She had some privacy; bathing and sleeping were done alone. Even so, her room was next to Rei's, and Rei had asked on the first day that Setsuna be under watch when not sleeping or bathing. It had made Rei uncomfortable to ask, because she was not used to baby-sitting a woman who could easily defend herself, but Setsuna agreed, knowing that the Senshi collective was looking out for her. Setsuna was also not allowed to leave the shrine property, and couldn't even walk around without Rei being fifty feet away, keeping an eye on her. Still, Setsuna told herself, it's better than being defenseless and alone for all eternity.

It had been Friday night when Setsuna came to the shrine; it was now two Saturdays past, and all of the inner-planetary guardians, along with Small Lady and Hotaru, had just left after a somewhat lengthy visit. Setsuna was about to lose her composure. Normally she loved spending time with her niece, but she needed some privacy, and didn't care if she was surprised by an attacker, because, at the very least, such an event would break the endless monotony. Setsuna put aside her books, rose, and opened the door. She would go on a walk, Setsuna decided, while Rei was occupied with cleaning out the sacred fire chamber.

Stepping out onto the porch of the shrine's living quarters, Setsuna felt the sun on her face, and pondered where she should go on her short dance with freedom. Somewhere busy, preferably, because a _youma_ probably wouldn't dare attack with civilians present. There was always a risk of such a thing occurring, but it was slight. As she came to the entrance to the shrine and slipped on her shoes, Setsuna felt a slight ache in her side, indicating her slight guilt at sneaking out of the shrine. She was being ungrateful, she knew, but she craved the change.

Setsuna walked toward the gate and steps to the shrine, grateful that she had not been spotted, when she heard a voice calling behind her.

"Setsuna-san!" called the voice, which was distinctly male, and thus not belonging to Rei. It was her grandfather, who had been nothing short of cheerful to Setsuna each time she encountered him. He had asked her to call him 'Grandpa', just as did Usagi and company.

Heart pounding rapidly, she turned and called back to him. "Yes, Grandpa-san?"

The old man called, "Aren't you supposed to be staying here, under house arrest?"

Setsuna smiled; he understood how she felt. "Yes, but I'm going for a short walk. I'll be back soon, but I wanted to enjoy the day." Not a lie in there at all.

Grandpa smiled. "Well, I guess as long as you don't go too far. I'll tell Rei that you've gone."

"It's all right, Grandpa-san. She's busy, and I don't want to disturb her. I'll return in a little while; you won't notice I've been gone!" Setsuna said, hoping he would listen.

He did. "All right, but come back soon. Have fun!" With that, Grandpa shuffled away, merrily whistling a folk song.

Setsuna rounded a corner, and walked down the busy street. There was no sign of the other Senshi, so she wouldn't have to lie about why Rei wasn't with her, or why she wasn't sequestered in the shrine. Setsuna hadn't realized how relieved and free she felt to be away from the shrine until she came to a small park, with a fountain at its center and children running about playing and rejoicing in the pleasant summer weather. She sat at a bench, and watched the children and the fountain, and relaxed the tiniest bit.

What Setsuna didn't see, however, was the red-clad figure, watching her from a nearby tree. The woman in the tree smiled, realizing that in short order, she could lure the Senshi of Time-Space away, and break her.

A/N: Woooo! LONG CHAPTER. Please review; it makes me a sad panda when you don't. Also, if you espy any discrepancies or problems, or have questions, shoot me a PM and we'll talk.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Chances are that if you recognize anything, it's not mine, and belongs to Takeuchi Naoko. However, plot and character manipulations are mine.

Chapter 6

Her clothing was rumpled and her hair was a tangled mess, but Rei had more important things to do than worry about her appearance. For the thousandth time she mentally smacked herself for not telling her grandfather that under no circumstances was Setsuna to leave the shrine. By the time Grandpa had told Rei that Setsuna had left to go on a walk Setsuna had been gone for almost an hour, and she had left her cell phone in her room at the shrine and was not answering communiqués from the senshi. Now, Rei had checked every room on the shrine's property and Setsuna was, predictably, nowhere to be found; it was time to alert her fellow soldiers. Rei pulled out her communicator and pressed the button that would allow her to reach all of the senshi at once.

"Everyone," she said, "we have a problem."

Setsuna had not brought a book, or any other distraction along with her on this walk. Unfortunately, she realized, she did not have her cell phone either, which was a problem for a number of reasons, chief among which at the moment was her need to call Rei and let her know that she had not run away like a discontented child, but had only wished to step outside of the shrine for a short while, but would return shortly. Internally, she wrestled with the choice between immediately returning to the shrine and staying where she was for a little longer; after all, she reasoned with herself, she had already been gone for a while, what harm would ten minutes more do?

Her decision made, Setsuna sat back on her bench and closed her eyes, feeling the September sun. It was a picturesque fall day, and Setsuna intended to enjoy as much as she could before returning to her quasi-prison. Her mind wandered, trying to form connections between her research and the still-unknown Dr. Karasuma. When a physics or astronomy enigma presented itself to her, Setsuna looked at the problem methodically, as a scientist was wont to do. However, given the lack of current data, as well as no mention of Karasuma Akane anywhere, in any file or report, Setsuna knew that a methodical approach would be useless. She had to work with whatever she had, which was very little. The only way to get any more information would be through a confrontation with the doctor herself, but there was no chance of that, considering that Haruka had called a few days ago saying that there was no Karasuma Akane listed as professor at Tokyo University, or anywhere else in the country, for that matter. Setsuna would have to wait, and hope that some sort of confrontation would present itself, but she had no idea of how or when that could happen.

After a few minutes, Setsuna was startled by a strange feeling skittering up her spine. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a completely empty park; the only noise in the area came from the fountain, and there were no vehicles on the road nearby. Setsuna got up and backed out of the park, feeling that the reason for the park's sudden emptiness was something inside the area. She got as far as the trees separating the street from the park when she saw a flash of scarlet above her. She looked up to see a woman sitting in one of the trees.

"Going somewhere, Sailor Pluto?" the woman called mockingly.

Setsuna paled, and tried to run, but the woman threw a glob of black material at her, which turned into a giant net, sizzling and crackling with energy. The net trapped Setsuna, and the energy stung like needles. She fell to her knees as the energy's power increased and the pain grew to slashing knives, but she didn't scream.

The woman jumped down from the tree. Her red hair matched her outfit and complemented her skin, a shade darker than Setsuna's. She wore black boots and a very low-cut top, and carried a whip. A gold circlet with a star at the center rested on her forehead, and her facial expression showed triumph mixed with contempt. Barring the facial expression, there was something very familiar about this woman. She walked over to Setsuna, who maintained her silence. "So, where are your senshi protectors now?" she asked, smirking. "Better yet, where are your own powers, Sailor Pluto? Surely you weren't _afraid_ to transform?"

Setsuna broke her silence. "Who are you?" she panted; the pain was getting worse. "What do you want with me?"

"It's not what I want with you," the woman said scathingly. "It's what I want with _all_ of you. You're just one of many, you know. And you're all senshi, but you're just a pawn. Of course," the woman shrugged, "your ability to control time-space was a bonus, and makes my job easier."

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled, but her eyes did not. Setsuna now understood the idea described by writers of a person's eyes growing cold, and she shivered. "I am Sailor Lead Crow, under the power and allegiance of the great Sailor Galaxia."

_A Sailor Senshi?!_ Setsuna was shocked. "You're one of the sailor soldiers? How could you fight against your own kind?" she asked.

Lead Crow flicked her fingers. "It's not important. Besides, I've seen enough of your planet's mystery movies to know that revealing all of my secrets is a stupid idea."

"Not as stupid as attacking a Sailor Senshi on her home turf!" Lead Crow and Setsuna both looked up. Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Mars all stood at the entrance to their park. Lead Crow almost looked disappointed.

"Well, it's not exactly who I was looking for, but four is better than none," she said, flicking the same net material which trapped Setsuna at the other soldiers. Anticipating attack, they jumped out of range and avoided the nets. Rei shot a blast of flame at Lead Crow, which broke the enemy soldier's hold on the net trapping Setsuna, who was now able to kick Lead Crow's feet out from under her. Haruka unleashed an earthquake, which kept Lead Crow down. Setsuna pulled out her transformation pen and tried to stand up, but her legs ached too much from the energy net.

Michiru jumped from her ground position into defensive stance in front of Setsuna. "Stay down," she murmured. Setsuna, angered by her friend's seeming command, tried again to stand up, and failed, which infuriated her even more. She crouched on the ground in a defensive stance, while Haruka and Rei cornered Lead Crow.

At this point, Rei knew that immobilizing the enemy was the only way to get answers. Glancing at Haruka, she could tell that the other soldier was of a similar mind. She gathered fire from around her and formed it into a ball, while Haruka removed her space sword from its scabbard. However, both of them were too slow. No sooner had their collective attacks been unleashed than the enemy soldier escaped into a telephone booth, which had appeared out of nowhere. The phone booth vanished, and the fire and sword attacks missed their target and instead incinerated a tree.

Frustrated, Rei and Haruka gave each other an exasperated look, and then ran to help Michiru and Setsuna, who was now able to stand. Taking one look at the annoyed expressions upon her friends' faces, Setsuna said, "Look, be angry at me later, but I might have some answers and-" her legs began to ache again-"I need to sit."

Rei sighed. "Fine, fine, let's get you back to the shrine. But then everyone is coming over, and we all want to know what the hell happened."

Setsuna didn't care, as long as she could sit down, so she let the three senshi de-transform and hail a taxi to take them back to the shrine.

"For the last time, I don't know exactly what she wants!" Setsuna said exasperatedly. "All I know is that she's a sailor senshi, she's not alone, and she's after something bigger than me." She gritted her teeth. "And that she was incredibly familiar, but I can't put a finger on why, and now will you stop asking me questions?"

All of the senshi, as well as Mamoru, Small Lady, and Hotaru, were gathered around the table in the dining area of the shrine. Their expressions ranged from anger (in Rei's case) to concern (Usagi) to thoughtful (Ami). Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru had long ago learned to school their expressions, but Setsuna could tell that they were trying to piece together what she had told them.

"Right now," Setsuna said, "I could go for some painkillers and a hot bath, and then a nap. There's nothing else I can do right now."

The group was silent, until Rei stood up and began to pace. "You said she had red hair and eyes, and olive skin, right?"

Setsuna nodded. "Didn't you also say that that doctor, Karasuma Akane, also had red hair and eyes, and olive skin?" Minako said. "I mean, it's not like that's the most common color combination."

"Not to mention," Ami said, "the fact that you haven't been able to find any trace of her in your research. If she's the enemy, she's probably doing all she can to make herself hard to find. And she's probably got some sort of disguising ability when she's in human form, like we do."

Setsuna knew the girls were probably right, but she still was unsure; she would need to see Karasuma Akane again to confirm, but the chances of that happening were slim. She looked at her hands, leaving her expression devoid of emotion.

"I think Setsuna-san is right," said Hotaru. The older soldiers turned to look at her. "There's nothing that we can do until either Karasuma Akane or Lead Crow reveal themselves again, so there's no point in sitting here," she said. Haruka and Michiru nodded.

"We should split up and try to do more independent research, now that we have some sense of what we're looking for," said Haruka. She and Michiru rose, as did Hotaru. "If we find anything, we'll let you all know."

"So will we," Mamoru said. "I don't like this idea of working apart, but it seems we don't have a choice right now."

"Setsuna will continue to stay here, but Grandpa, Yuuichiro, and I will be more on our guard," Rei said. "I should at the very least let them know that Setsuna is not to leave."

Setsuna nodded. "I'm sorry I ran off, but at least we got something out of it." She looked to Rei. "And I am sorry for worrying you. I will stay here until we figure this out." At this, the group split, with the inner planetary guardians except Rei going to the public library, and the outer planetary senshi heading to Tokyo University. Rei gave Setsuna a towel and stood to leave.

"I'll leave some tea and painkillers in your room for when you're done bathing," Rei said. "I'm going to go and consult the sacred fire. Something is bothering me, at the back of my mind, and I'm not sure what it is."

Setsuna stood, taking the towel. "Thanks."

That night, Setsuna slept soundly, a surprise given the events of the day. It was almost silent in the shrine, with the exception of the crows outside and the odd vehicle on the road by the shrine.

The sun was just coming up when Setsuna woke up, and was reading a leisure novel to try to ease her mind when Rei ran into her room.

"You have to see this," Rei said. Setsuna stood and followed Rei back into her room. The television was on, and the very woman Setsuna had been looking for was on the screen. Karasuma Akane was talking about recent updates to the IAU's planet classification strategy, but Setsuna wasn't listening. She could only stare at the screen as the confirmation she had been searching for raced through her brain.

"That's her," Setsuna said. Rei looked at her, and Setsuna pulled out her communicator. She pressed the button that let her reach all of the senshi at the same time. "Everyone, turn on your televisions to channel-" she checked the logo at the corner of the television "-5, the Ginga TV channel." She flipped the communicator closed.

"She's talking about how the IAU wants to make restrictions on planetary classification even stricter," Rei said. "But they can't do that, can they?"

Setsuna frowned. "In normal circumstances, it would take years to change restrictions. But this isn't normal. If there's an alien force involved, then there's no way to tell what's going to happen."

They watched for a few more minutes, but the doctor's words melted into an incoherent puddle, and Setsuna fixated her gaze upon Dr. Karasuma's face instead of listening.

Once the broadcast was over, Setsuna and Rei's communicators beeped, indicating an incoming call. They opened the communicators to see Ami's face. "What's up, Ami-chan?" Rei asked.

"I think we should go and check out Ginga TV," Ami said. "I looked into their records, and they're a relatively new station, not to mention that they're the only ones who have any record of Karasuma Akane."

"We should all go together," said Rei. "I'm not ready to get hurt if something hits us and it's only three people."

"Fair enough," said Ami. "Let's meet at the shrine at 10 o'clock. We'll go from there."

"See you then," said Rei. "We'll let the others know." She closed her communicator.

"I'm coming with you, you know," Setsuna said. "And I will transform if necessary, even if we're on enemy ground."

Rei nodded. "I figured. We need you," she said. "And you're a senshi even if you don't transform." The _miko_ looked at her watch. "We have three hours," she said. "I'm going back to sleep, and then I'll make food. We might as well be rested."

"All right," said Setsuna. "I'm going to read for a while, and I'll see you at breakfast." She went back to the guest room, and read for a while.

As promised, the group convened on the stairs to the shrine at 10 o'clock. They were all dressed normally, but something in their poses was martial, even in Chibi-usa's expression. They all knew where they were going, and what they were looking for, but they were essentially blind, and although this was nothing new, it was still worrisome.

Rei shut and locked her door, and then came down the stairs to join the collective. "Grandpa and Yuuichiro are taking care of the shrine," she said. "Let's go."

They walked quickly down the steps, and walked the seven long blocks to the television station. The streets were at their normal business, and the park where Lead Crow had confronted Setsuna showed no sign of any damage from the previous day's encounter. After a short while, the group arrived in front of the building that housed the television station. It was empty outside, and there appeared to be little movement inside; the windows were dark for the most part, but there was no movement visible in the light windows.

Setsuna halted, and the group stopped with her. She was flanked by Haruka and Michiru, who had formed a rear guard, and Rei and Makoto stood in front of her. Chibi-usa and Hotaru stood to her right and left, respectively. But despite the guard, Setsuna was nervous. She looked back at Haruka and Michiru; they raised their eyebrows at her, and she nodded. The group entered the building through a set of sliding mirrored doors.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, the lights flickered and went out, leaving the entire group in total darkness.

A/N: So, it's been almost seven months since I uploaded anything relating to this story, but I finally just sat down to write, and so here's another chapter! It's a long one, and the next one promises to be just as lengthy. I always love to get feedback from you, the readers, so PLEASE REVIEW, . It takes all of two minutes, I promise.


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